scholarly journals Could Assistive Technology Provision Models Help Pave the Way for More Environmentally Sustainable Models of Product Design, Manufacture and Service in a Post-COVID World?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10867
Author(s):  
Ben Oldfrey ◽  
Giulia Barbareschi ◽  
Priya Morjaria ◽  
Tamara Giltsoff ◽  
Jessica Massie ◽  
...  

From multiple studies conducted through the FCDO AT2030 Programme, as well as key literature, we examine whether Assistive Technology (AT) provision models could look towards more sustainable approaches, and by doing this benefit not only the environment, but also address the problems that the current provision systems have. We show the intrinsic links between disability inclusion and the climate crisis, and the particular vulnerability people with disabilities face in its wake. In particular, we discuss how localised circular models of production could be beneficial, facilitating context driven solutions and much needed service elements such as repair and maintenance. Key discussion areas include systems approaches, digital fabrication, repair and reuse, and material recovery. Finally, we look at what needs be done in order to enable these approaches to be implemented. In conclusion, we find that there are distinct parallels between what AT provision models require to improve equitable reliable access, and strategies that could reduce environmental impact and bring economic benefit to local communities. This could allow future AT ecosystems to be key demonstrators of circular models, however further exploration of these ideas is required to make sense of the correct next steps. What is key in all respects, moving forward, is aligning AT provision with sustainability interventions.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 621
Author(s):  
Hsin Rau ◽  
Mary Deanne M. Lagapa ◽  
Po-Hsun Chen

The number of consumers with green awareness have grown these days and as a result they have turned to purchase eco-friendly products. For this reason, this study aims to propose a method for eco-design based on the anticipatory failure determination method to develop eco-design products. By using eco-design concepts adopted from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the process will limit the failures and issues related to environmental impact in product design. The proposed method for eco-design product in this study follows the following procedure. First, we analyze product failure. Second, we propose the determination of the non-green phenomenon of the failure. Thirdly, we integrate the intensified non-green phenomenon to generate non-green hypotheses and fourthly, we eliminate each non-green phenomenon hypothesis by introducing the contradiction matrix of TRIZ for obtaining solutions. Finally, we assess alternative eco-design solutions by evaluation. To verify the practicality of the new procedure, a washing machine is used as an example for illustration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4726
Author(s):  
Sophie Saget ◽  
Marcela Costa ◽  
David Styles ◽  
Mike Williams

Consumers are increasingly asking for foods that are healthier, more humane, and environmentally sustainable. Recently, chickpea cooking water—aquafaba—has gained popularity as a potential egg substitute that complies with these criteria. However, research on the environmental impact of this ingredient is lacking. We performed a comparative attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) of mayonnaise made with aquafaba as the emulsifying agent, and traditional mayonnaise made with egg yolk. The vegan mayonnaise was found not to be as environmentally sustainable as the egg-based product. The vegan mayonnaise had a significantly (p < 0.05) lower impact across 4 categories, but a significantly higher impact across 8 categories out of 16, including climate change and resource-use-energy-carriers. The majority of categories under which vegan mayonnaise underperformed were related to the electricity needed for aquafaba processing. These impacts can be mitigated with a “cleaner” electricity grid, or onsite renewable electricity generation. Substituting the Mexican grid, where the aquafaba is currently processed, for the Canadian grid, where the mayonnaise is produced, reduced the carbon footprint of the vegan mayonnaise by 37%, making it similar to the egg-based product. As sunflower oil production was linked to extensive environmental burdens, we performed additional sensitivity analyses around oil processing, sunflower production, and other vegetable oils. Our study shows that substituting egg yolk with aquafaba could cause an increase in the environmental footprint of mayonnaise due to high processing costs, illustrating that vegan options do not always have a smaller environmental footprint, and can represent a trade-off in their comparatively more humane and healthier offer.


Author(s):  
Partho Pratim Seal

Sustainable tourism has been a focus of tourism worldwide. As the hospitality industry is a part of tourism which includes hotels and resorts and contributes a lot towards food and lodging, sustainability is a concern for the industry. Individuals have a perspective that hotelier's relationship toward environmental and societal concerns is rather secluded and intangible. Considering the size and the rapid growth of the hospitality industry, it makes it clear that environmentally sustainable action is essential. For sustainability to be effective, the best way is to engage the people from local communities. The aim is to promote socio-economic development of the tourist destination and the community considering the ecology best cared for by the locals. Tourism has to be developed in a manner so that the ecosystem is conserved with diversification of the economy leading to dispersal of ownership.


Manufacturing ◽  
2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winston A. Knight

This paper outlines the development of a senior undergraduate course concerned with product design for environment. The course sits alongside other well established courses devoted to product design for manufacture and assembly and is aimed at giving students experience of the use of evaluation procedures that enable the environmental impact of products to be taken into account during product design. The course is partially project based and culminates in the students working in small groups to evaluate existing products. Based on this evaluation design changes are developed for improved environmental performance, including ease of recycling.


Author(s):  
Shane Winser ◽  
James Moore ◽  
Jim Bond ◽  
Rebecca Harris ◽  
Amy Hughes ◽  
...  

Ethics of expeditions - Clinical competence - Care of local staff - Interacting with local communities - Working with other expeditions - Environmental impact - Assessing an expedition’s environmental footprint - Working with the media - Disaster medicine


Author(s):  
Shuyi Wang ◽  
Daizhong Su ◽  
You Wu ◽  
Zijian Chai

Abstract An approach for integrating life-cycle assessment (LCA) into the eco-design of lighting products was developed, and LCAs of five lighting products that are currently on the market were then carried out using this approach. Based on the results of these LCAs, the sustainability requests for lighting products were derived and embedded into the product design specification (PDS), thus ensuring that any product developed according to the PDS would have the desired eco-design features. A new sustainable lighting product was then designed according to the PDS and manufactured, after which the new product underwent LCA. Upon comparing the results of the LCA of the new product with the LCA results for the existing lighting products, the newly designed product was found to provide better environmental performance than the existing products (a 27–58% reduction in environmental impact).


Author(s):  
J. Simanovska ◽  
K. Valters ◽  
G. Bažbauers

Development of a Set of Criteria as an Eco-Design Tool for Evaluation of Environmental Impact of Material Choice Eco-design is part of the product design process aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of products during their entire lifecycle. Nowadays, the eco-design concept becomes more and more important, and it is also incorporated in the latest developments in legislation. However, with regard to the implementation of eco-design, many guidelines and tools still focus on the strategic level, but the practical tools are underdeveloped. In order to promote eco-design in the industry, there is a need for the further development of more practical tools, taking into account the scientific findings, but also making them applicable into a product design process. The intention of this paper is to present major considerations in order to develop a set of criteria for the material choice taking into account LCA studies and available data regarding environmental performance of materials. The proposed criteria system is based on three main criteria - toxicity, energy, recyclability, which corresponds to the main impact areas of material choice according to findings from the published LCA studies. These criteria are also linked to each other - e.g. with increasing recyclability one can decrease the energy content, as well as the toxic dispersion. The important innovation in this list of criteria would be that the product design - product structure -and use patterns (incl. end of life scenario) is linked to energy content, recyclability and toxicity. The next step would be development of the quantifiable values of this criteria system (expressed in 5 units), in order to make it more applicability of a quick screening tool in the product design process.


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